1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and system for controlling a terminal device and, more particularly, to terminal device control technology in which the functions of a portable terminal device can be controlled within a specific area or for a specific period or both based on device control information.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, as ultra-high wireless communication infrastructure is constructed and various digital wireless devices have come into wide use, existing tasks performed through a fixed type terminal device, such as a PC, have become executed through a portable terminal device. In particular, a smart terminal, such as a smart pad or a smart phone, is recently being explosively used because it provides excellent portability, that is, the greatest advantage of a portable terminal device, and has almost the same performance as a PC and a much wider screen than a pervious smart terminal.
A portable terminal device is advantageous in that it can provide new and convenient services not provided by an existing fixed type device because a user can use the portable terminal device anytime and anywhere while carrying it. Meanwhile, as a portable terminal device is equipped with various functions almost equivalent to those of a PC, there is a good possibility that intended or unintended information spill through the portable terminal device can occur because various pieces of information can be easily accessed and obtained.
In order to prevent this problem, various solutions for controlling a terminal device are appearing for the management of information spill and efficient assets. One of the solutions is a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. The MDM solution functions to prevent the illegal leakage of information and manage assets by managing mobile devices owned by executives and staff members in a company.
For example, in a company, smart phones, tablet PCs, etc. are supplied to executives and staff members for office purposes, and business applications based on a mobile office are installed in the smart phones, tablet PCs, etc. In this case, however, the executives and staff members can leak information important for the company out to the outside using functions, such as the screen capturing, photographing, and printing of the mobile devices, for undesirable purposes, and the important information can leak to the outside through the terminal devices themselves due to unexpected loss or robbery. Accordingly, the MDM solution can prevent the leakage of information through security functions, such as screen capturing control, encryption, and photographing control using a camera.
In conventional terminal device control techniques including the MDM solution, it is substantially difficult to control terminal devices out of a corresponding area because the conventional terminal device control techniques are specified for control of terminal devices for a specific group or organization. Furthermore, the conventional terminal device control techniques cannot be applied to a place where unspecified individuals are crowded, such as an exhibition or a concert hall.
In addition, the conventional terminal control techniques are constructed based on a server. Thus, a terminal device must be registered with a server and must perform an approval process while operating in conjunction with the server when accessing the server. Accordingly, a lot of costs and manpower are necessary for the construction and maintenance and repairs of a server if the server is constructed to manage many terminal devices at a time.
Accordingly, there is an urgent need for the development of terminal device control technology which can be widely used and can significantly reduce costs for constructing a system so that control situations of various terminal devices can be taken into consideration.